The latest Android 11 Developer Preview 2 now has new APIs and fixed issues which makes it much better. Google has now rolled out support for call screening, Neural Networks and refined hinge angle detection support.
As we all know, the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is free to download by anyone as it’s only being maintained and licensed by Google, if you’re interested, you can download the software from the source where it’s been hosted.
Google will also be rolling out the OTA update in the next few hours to devices which supports it while the Developer Preview 2 will be freely available for testing on devices such as the Pixel 2, Pixel 2XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a Xl, Pixel 4, and Pixel 4 XL.
As mentioned earlier, there are newer APIs being introduced to the new build of the Android 11 Developer Preview (We’ll be calling it A11-DP2 from here) as Google emphasizes on bringing an improved support for 5G network as the new 5G state API is also being introduced to the preview.
And as we all know, security is another important Google always ensure to keep as top priority as far as the A11-DP2 is concerned. The update also feature some image and camera improvements along with connectivity and Google Play System updates but below are more details about the Android 11 Developer Preview 2 (A11-DP2)
. Moreover, privacy and security concerns are well addressed with the presence of new functions. It also features some image and camera improvements along with the connectivity and Google Play System updates. Let’s hop into the detailed assessment of the Android 11 DP2 features:
Android 11 DP2 Changes
Google made it known via a blog post that there have been numerous changes made on the A11-DP2 which is meant to tackle issues such as security and optimized performances and accessibility of the system.
Enriching Experience
5G STATE API: This is aimed at further improving the support for the 5G network which most modern smartphones launched in 2020 now support. This will help in the latency of the 5G network and boost the power of the operating system in general.
IMPROVED CALL SCREENING: There is a new API on the A11-DP2 which is meant to filter out robocalls more effectively and efficiently. Aside that, it will also provide options to customize post-call screens and add spam or add to contact buttons which is meant to make the process of blacklisting a number or adding them up simplified.
HING ANGLE FOR FOLDABLES: Folding smartphones are a thing now and we have to adapt to the technology. There is now a special API which works with the hinge angle sensor to precisely know the angle of device screen surfaces which will be super important for folding smartphones,
Hard-Swish Op, Control ops (New Neural Networks APIs) – To further improve on the learning time as well as enhance accuracy across the Google AI, there is now an inclusion of the Hard-Swish OP which is meant to improve the training time by adding new and efficient algorithms. Also the Controls ops brings improved machine learning models that supports branching and loops.
Improved security and Privacy
Security is one essential thing about the Android operating system and Google wants to make it even far better and more secured as far as the Android 11 Developer Preview 2 is concerned. Below are more information about the security of the OS.
FOREGROUND SERVICE TYPES FOR CAMERA AND MICROPHONE – Maybe you’ve seen people like Mark Zuckerberg taping his webcam and device’s microphone, this is due to security vulnerabilities whereby these devices can be tapped and hacked. The new security restriction adds access lock before getting to the camera and microphone data of the device which require user to add “ForegroundService” Type value to the manifest if the applications are bound to specific use-cases.
SCOPED STORAGE UPDATES – This allows users to transfer data from the legacy model to Scoped storage which also improve cache management. The subsequent updates will further enhance the scoped storage concept.
Visual Changes
What’s more important in an update without a better User interface, well this is also an excellent part of the A11-DP2.
SYNCHRONIZED IME TRANSITION: New API is now set up which allows users to experience a natural, intuitive and lag-free transition while interacting with the soft keyboard. There are now some APIs which allows this feature thereby giving some interesting animation lister and “WindowInsetsAnimationController” API which are part of the new transition.
BETTER REFRESH RATE: Devices like Galaxy S20 Ultra might have a 120Hz refresh rate but the new Android 11 Developer Preview 2 will now include a new set of APIs which allows games and application to set some preferences based on frame rate for the display.
While there have been support for devices with high refresh rates like 90Hz and 60Hz since last year, this will likely be another jump forward to further enhance this experience.
This new APIs will help the smartphones adapt according to the value set for different Apps and Games.
YOU CAN RESUME ON REBOOT Android 10 would usually still give you access to apps upon successful unlocking right after a reboot but the Android 11 will give you access to Credential Encrypted storage even before unlocking the device.
CAMERA SUPPORT IN THE ANDROID EMULATOR: There is no better way to develop an application without first testing them out right on your computer using the Android emulator software pre-loaded with the Android studio software.
The inclusion of this new API will further make things more easy for photo editing applications as they can test the camera-based features on an Emulator present in the Android 11.
Google therefore wants developers to make quick changes in order to probably further enhance the OS. The search giant is consistently working on making the Android update much easier for developers as its advised that developers should update to the latest Android Studio which includes the Android 11 Preview SDK to better test their applications.
The users can install the A11-DP 2 on Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3XL, Pixel 3A, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. The build can also be installed on Project Treble supported devices like Poco F1.